1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mobile data network infrastructure methods and systems. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and systems that allow mobile devices to wirelessly contract for products and services that can result in a temporary expansion of mobile unit capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless networks have been evolving rapidly since the early 1980's when the first generation cellular telephone network was deployed. By this time the third generation network technologies are fairly well defined and initial deployments are beginning. Already, fourth generation systems are in the research phase. A key difference between the first generation systems and modem systems is the move from circuit switched analog technology to packet switched digital technology. While early cellular telephones were wireless versions of standard analog telephones, newer cellular and PCS (personal communication system) phones provide both voice and data channels. It is envisioned that in the future both the voice and data traffic will be carried by a unified packet switched network.
A key attribute of third generation (3G) cellular systems is their ability to handle data traffic. To the user, this means a cellular phone can provide Internet connectivity. A “smart phone” is a device that provides voice connectivity, data connectivity and computerized application programs such as those as offered by PDA (personal digital assistant) technology.
A key problem faced by smart phones is their limited user interface capabilities. Smart phones need to be compact in design. As such, a typical smart phone has a relatively small display surface and a telephone-sized keypad. While a smart phone may be able to provide wireless Internet capabilities, its limited display surface area precludes it from providing a full featured web browser as found on desktop systems. Some prior art systems use speech recognition and voice based operating system techniques to address the user interface size constraints imposed by smart phones. Still, voice based user interfaces are cumbersome in the way they control complex data entry and menu navigation requirements that arise in operating systems and application programs such as spread sheets.
Prior art systems understand the restricted user interface capabilities of smart phones and similar mobile devices. As such, various dialects of XML (extensible Markup Language) have been developed to allow content to be customized for interactive display on specific types of smart phones and other mobile devices. A variation of XML known as WML (Wireless Markup Language) includes language constructs (e.g., tag sets) that allow a server to deliver customized content to a mobile device made by a specific manufacturer and having a specific model number. This allows the content to be customized for the specific user interface configuration supplied by the mobile device.
In general, a device-specific user interface that involves a restricted display area and a fixed set of user interface buttons, such as those found on a smart phone or a PDA is called an “area-constrained user interface.” A user interface found on a desktop system such as a PC or workstations is called a “non-area-constrained user interface.”
Typically, systems with non-area constrained user interfaces involve a desktop user interface. For example, a desktop user interface is found on computer systems such as those running the Windows™ or X-Windows™ operating systems. In general, any graphical user interface that allows a user to make menu selections and/or icon selections in a non-area constrained environment can be thought of as a desktop interface. Typically, desktop interfaces use pointing devices such as mouse devices and also provide optional keyboard support. Some desktop user interfaces also provide speech recognition and voice based prompts.
It should be noted that different models of smart phones and other mobile devices will have different display surface sizes and shapes, and different sets of keys on different types of keypads (area-constrained). This is in contrast to desktop systems that can all be assumed to have a desktop sized monitor, a standard keyboard, and a mouse (non-area constrained). While WML and similar technologies can be used to specify how content should be delivered to a variety of smart phone devices, the display surface area and keypad surface area limitations remain. A smart phone is generally limited in its set of peripherals and therefore is incapable of providing the type of user interface that can be supplied by computer systems with full sized display surfaces, keyboards, and other devices such as pointing devices.
Other problems with existing technology include the unavailability of techniques and protocols to allow smart phones to use a wLAN (wireless local area network) connection or a wWAN (wireless wide area network) connection to contract with local entities to provide products and services. Enhanced systems and methods are lacking to allow a user of a mobile unit such as a smart phone to negotiate with a local wireless device and contract products and services therefrom.
Prior art systems have been developed to allow users to access their home or office applications while away on the road. For example companies like Oracle Inc. supply portal software. Portal software allows users to log into a computer system remotely and gain access to both standard web content interfaces and back office application interfaces. That is, a portal is an application server that provides an interface between remote network users and application programs running in an enterprise environment such as a home or an office. For example, using a portal, a remote worker could log into a portal server and access several application programs such as email programs and spreadsheets that run on a home or office computer. Still, while portal software is useful, in many cases the mobile user is restricted by a limited UI (user interface) such as the one provided by a smart phone. Smart phone UI's do not typically provide a display surface sufficient to support a full-scale desktop UI. This inhibits smart phone users from working with traditional desktop applications. It would be desirable to have an application server or portal that could supply the look and feel of a full home/office desktop system to smart phone users. It would be desirable for smart phone users to be able to use the smart phone to access a full-sized desktop UI. It would also be desirable for smart phone users to be able to use the limited smart phone UI when needed to support mobility.
It would be desirable to have a mobile unit that could provide a compact smart phone UI to a user, but could then be reconfigured to support a full desktop style UI so that the user could work on desktop applications while away from the home or office. For example, it would be desirable for a user of a smart phone who is waiting in an airport or staying in a hotel room to be able to walk up to a peripheral augmentation subsystem that supplies hardware support for a temporarily extended UI. It would be desirable for the smart phone to wirelessly negotiate with the peripheral augmentation subsystem to pay for services rendered using either a per-usage payment schedule or a by-subscription payment schedule. It would also be desirable to have a global desktop server that could be used to allow mobile users to see images of their desktop applications as though they were back at their home office. With the availability of such peripheral augmentation equipment, users could carry smart phones and enjoy all of the capabilities of full desktop systems when needed. It would further be desirable to have business methods to support the use of contracted peripherals and global desktop services. It would also be desirable to also provide a means for a mobile unit to set up position-dependent ecommerce sessions with wireless infrastructure vending devices that sell products and services beside negotiated wireless peripheral services.